China’s Government is Excited About This Technology

China’s government is pushing for more widespread use of light-emitting diode technology and recently updated its subsidy program, announcing it will target 20 to 30 industry leading firms. The news is a positive for LED stocks Veeco Instruments (NASDAQ:VECO), Rubicon Technology (NASDAQ:RBCN), Aixtron SE (NASDAQ:AIXG), Cree (NASDAQ:CREE) and Energy Focus (NASDAQ:EFOI).

China’s Ministry of Science and Technology plans to increase domesticall-produced LED chips by 80 percent, while reducing the cost of the technology to one-fifth of 2011 prices. The subsidy program is intended to help proliferate the use of LED lighting from now through 2014. By 2015 the government plans for LED lighting to be more widely used in the public and architectural lighting industries, with LED lights comprising 30 percent of the lighting market, and matching the international luminous efficiency of 150 to 200 lm/W.

Decisions about the subsidy program have hit several snags. The announcement was originally set for March 20 but was delayed because of high competition. Sources say that Wu Ling, the general secretary of China’s Solid State Lighting Alliance, will visit Taiwan in June, which could delay final decisions about the program until then.